Texas State Bar Paralegal Division (2024)

FAQs

What is the Texas State Bar paralegal Division? ›

The State Bar of Texas' Paralegal Division is a statewide organization for legal assistants. Their site includes information about events, CLE opportunities, and FAQs regarding ethical issues of concern to paralegals.

Paralegals must avoid the unauthorized practice of law. Generally, paralegals may not represent clients in court, take depositions, or sign pleadings. Some federal and state administrative agencies, however, do permit nonlawyer practice. See, for example, Social Security Administration.

The paralegal's ability to answer client questions, maintain and document the file, obtain information from the client while assisting the attorney in coming up with solutions for a case, and walking the client through the legal process is invaluable and can be quite rewarding.

The estimated total pay for a Paralegal is $64,148 per year in the Texas area, with an average salary of $54,950 per year. These numbers represent the median, which is the midpoint of the ranges from our proprietary Total Pay Estimate model and based on salaries collected from our users.

As the law develops, continuing legal education for paralegals is as important as it is for lawyers. Through associate member status, the College honors paralegals that make a commitment to maintain and enhance their professional skills through continuing legal education.

These programs typically take two years to complete and can be found primarily at community colleges, along with some four-year institutions. Bachelor's degrees. While less common, some colleges and universities offer four-year degrees with a major or minor in paralegal studies.

Lawyers are licensed to practice law and represent clients, whereas paralegals are not. This means that lawyers are typically more highly trained and better compensated than paralegals. Paralegals support lawyers by assisting with legal research, document preparation, and client communications.

Only attorneys can give legal advice. Paralegals, legal assistants , and notary publics are all nonlawyers. They cannot prepare documents on your behalf. Paralegals and other legal staff in a law office may be able to assist with legal work, but it must be under the supervision of a licensed attorney.

Appropriate supervision is key because a lawyer is ultimately responsible for all the actions of any paralegal under their employ.

For example, if you are a relatively new paralegal, you might read up on the most common mistakes made by rookie paralegals. FYI, these include things like missing deadlines, giving legal advice, and mis-calendaring things.

Can a paralegal talk with client? ›

Paralegals may communicate with clients on their cases as long as the communication does not include legal advice or any misleading statements. Since paralegals may be working closely with clients throughout their cases, clients may become confused about their role compared to their lawyer's.

Texas has no mandatory certification requirements for paralegals. This means that there are many paths you can follow to start your career. Most paralegals in Texas possess a combination of education, experience (which may include internships), and on-the-job training.

Texas has no mandatory certification requirements for paralegals. This means that there are many paths you can follow to start your career. Most paralegals in Texas possess a combination of education, experience (which may include internships), and on-the-job training.

The State Bar of Texas is a public corporation and an administrative agency of the judicial department of the Texas government. The phrase “member of the Bar” means a person licensed to practice law in Texas. The State Bar does not purport to speak on behalf of all persons licensed to practice law in Texas.

Paralegal Associations and Organizations - NALA, AAfPE, NFPA.